The point is, I really hate waking up mornings JUST to get my jiggly ass moving in some sort of repetitive motion. The truth is, whenever I think about it I die a little inside.

But then I got to thinking: If I exercise, if my ass jiggles less, if I’m not so winded all the damn time – I can eat more cookies. Logic, no?

So against everything I believe in, I wake up at 5:30 AM and I pick things up and put them down. There’s no brownie waiting for me.

I attempt to contort my body in poses the body isn’t meant to. And when I say contort, I just mean touching my toes. That shit hasn’t happened since like 1997. But I try. Every single day.

And then amidst all this trying, something began to happen. No, I don’t ENJOY exercise. I still die a little inside; however, I die less each time. The other day I touched my thigh and felt something hard. I was like, WTF? I almost scheduled a doctor’s appointment – No joke. Then I realized it was muscle. I’m gaining muscle now. I haven’t seen muscle since 2001. Oh, and there are abs somewhere between that large layer of tummy fat.

Who knew?

Will I ever strut around sporting a 6-pack? Not unless it’s a 6-pack of Corona. But I’m starting to feel less like Jello and more like chocolate pudding. Perhaps by end of summer I’ll reach pudding pop status.

Anything can happen.

Now let’s talk about these cookies, ’cause that’s why we’re here.

Last week I opened a can of Nestle la Lechera’s dulce de leche. Realtalk? I just wanted to eat half a can of dulce de leche. Instead displayed some Super Hero will power and tested a batch of banana walnut dulce de leche chip cookies. Those ain’t ready for you.

But these are…

These DIY oreo cookies are not for the faint of heart. This is a fall in love caramel situation, made even more delicious by its chocolate cookie exterior.

The dough is VERY easy to work with. It’s a stiff sort of dough, the type you don’t really need to refrigerate. You can also save it in your fridge or freezer. I saved half this dough in the refrigerator for 3 whole weeks and it was just as good as the first day.

And the dulce de leche filling? Whole ‘nother level ish. I only added about half a cup of dulce de leche, and you could truly taste it. I don’t even want to go into it…

DIY Dulce De Leche Oreo Cookies

Let's talk about exercise for a minute. Not too long, though - We have cookies to talk about.

Ingredients

For the Cookies

2cupsall-purpose flourspooned then leveled

1 ¾cupscocoa powdersifted

¾cup1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1cupgranulated sugar

½cuplight brown sugarpacked

1tablespoonkosher salt

3/4teaspoonbaking powder

1/2teaspoonbaking soda

2teaspoonsinstant coffee powderI used my Bustelo

1 ½tablespoonsvanilla extract

5egg yolks

cocoa powder for rolling out the dough

For the Dulce De Leche Filling

1stick of unsalted butter at room temperature

2 ½heaping cups of confectioners’ sugar

1/4teaspoonsalt

1tablespoonvanilla extract

1/2cupof dulce de lecheI used Nestle La Lechera

Instructions

Make the cookies:

In a medium bowl, combine flour and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter sugars, salt, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder and vanilla extract. Mix over medium/high speed until just combined, no longer than seconds. This will ensure a crunchy wafer.

Reduce the speed to medium and add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl. Turn the mixer on to low speed, and add the flour and cocoa powder mixture. The mixture will be stiff, but continue mixing on low speed until combined.

Divide the dough in half, flatten each portion into a rough square, then wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside while you roll out the cookie dough.

Tape a sheet of parchment paper on your counter and dust with a light coating of cocoa powder. Place the dough on top of the dusted parchment, dust with a light coating of cocoa powder, and then place another piece of parchment over the dough. Roll the dough to about 1/8” thickness. Please be sure to measure out the dough, unless you like thick cookies.

Using a 2” round cutter, cut circles in the dough, making sure to cut as close as possible. Place the cut circles onto the prepared cookie sheet. These cookies don’t really spread while baking, so feel free to place them close together. Not touching, but close. Gather up the dough scraps, pat them to a rough square, and re-roll, arranging them onto the cookie sheet.

Place the dough in the oven and bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool. No need to transfer them onto a wire rack. Cool the cookies completely before adding the filling.

While the cookies are cooling, make the Dulce de Leche filling.

Make the filling:

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment over low speed, cream together the shortening/butter, powdered sugar, and salt until combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

Add the vanilla extract and dulce de leche and increase the speed to medium/high. Mix the frosting using this speed for about 10 minutes or so. If you prefer a stiffer frosting, add more confectioners’ sugar. You can also add more dulce de leche, 'cause one can never add too much.

Transfer the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip. Alternately, you can portion the filling with an ice cream scoop or a teaspoon. Flip half of the cookies so the very flat portion is upright. Onto each of these cookies, spoon or pipe as much filling as you'd like. Top with another cookie and press down on the cookie until the filling reaches the edges.

At this point you can transfer the cookies to an airtight container and refrigerate to help the filling adhere. Or you can leave at room temperature on a cookie sheet as the filling adheres on its own, which is how I roll.